Jaguar’s all-new XF Sportbrake is due to hit Australian shores this November following an official debut in June as part of a promotional campaign tie up with the Wimbledon tennis tournament in England. Essentially a sleeker and more practical wagon version of the second-generation XF (X260), the Sportbrake range will start at $90,400.
For that dough, you’ll be receiving the R-Sport 20d variant which uses a 2.0-litre turbodiesel from Jaguar-Land Rover’s new Ingenium powertrain line. It produces 132kW and 430Nm, mated to an 8-speed ZF 8HP automatic that sends power to the rear wheels.
Climb up from the entry model will yield the R-Sport 25t, the only petrol-powered XF Sportbrake in the incoming spread. A 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium mill is turbocharged to generate 184kW and 365Nm. Above that is the range-topping XF S 30d, which uses a 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel to produce 221kW and a staggering 700Nm of torque from 2,000rpm.
Every XF Sportbrake is rear-wheel driven, and in its most potent form, can accelerate to 100km/h in 6.6 seconds. The base 20d achieves the same sprint in 8.8 seconds, however, while the mid-packer petrol takes 7.1 seconds.
Each Sportbrake offers a 565-litre cargo capacity with the seats left up, or a whopping 1,700-litres with them folded. Though, in spite of its penchant toward ultimate practicality, Jaguar has placed aerodynamics and driving dynamics at forefront of their priority list, designing it to have an impressive drag coefficient of just 0.29 and endowing it with a 50:50 weight distribution and double wishbone suspension front suspension for sharper responses at the nose.
To cope with the extra weight and potentially more cargo out at the rear while maintaining pliancy and refinement, they’ve also equipped it self-levelling integral link air springs as standard. It’s agile, sure, maybe even genuinely sporty, but primarily positioned as a luxurious cruiser.
The Sportbrake, no matter which engine is chosen, offers a pretty uniform experience inside, with an expectedly plush leather interior that’s lit by the panoramic sunroof. On the dash, JLR’s 10-inch IncControl Touch Pro infotainment system takes centre stage, connected to an 825W 17-speaker system and offering satellite navigation as well as gesture control to manipulate in-car functions such as activating the sun blind.
Each XF Sportbrake will also come as standard with a driver assistance and active safety features, including the semi-autonomous Park Assist, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, 360-degree camera, blind spot monitoring, reverse traffic detection, and adaptive cruise control with queue assist.
- XF Sportbrake R-Sport 20d - $90,400
- XF Sportbrake R-Sport 25t - $91,400
- XF Sportbrake S 30d - $123,450
- XF Sportbrake S 30d First Edition - $137,300
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